US$12.7M new Region 1 ferry vessel to soon set sail for Guyana

A US$12.7M ferry constructed by a company in India will soon set sail to Guyana, following the official launching ceremony on Wednesday at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) yard in Kolkata.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, along with a Guyanese delegation, is currently in India, having gone there to attend the official launching ceremony. Delivering remarks at the event, Edghill spoke of the benefits this new vessel – named MV Ma Lisha – would bring to the people of Guyana.
“I am sure it will provide great service to the people of Guyana, and to Region One in particular, who depend heavily on such transportation,” he expressed.
He also noted that the construction of the vessel would “aid in writing a new chapter in the ties between Guyana and India.”

The watercraft, constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders, is 70 metres long – twice the size of the ferries currently operating in Guyana. It will be delivered to Region One, (Barima-Waini) in an effort to ease the transportation burden of residents and ensure the prompt delivery of goods and services there.
The new vessel has the capacity to transport 274 passengers, 10 cars, four trucks, ten 10-foot-size containers of cargo, and to travel at 14 knots per hour, cutting the usual travel time by half. Designed by the in-house team of Garden Reach Shipbuilders, the vessel incorporates enhanced safety and operational features.
The agreement to procure the ocean-going passenger-and-cargo vessel from India was signed on January 13, 2021 between Garden Reach Shipbuilders and the Ministry of Public Works’ Transport and Harbours Department through a line of credit.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Ministry will be constructing three wharves to adequately accommodate the roll-in roll-out watercraft. The new wharves will be constructed at the Barima loading area to service residents of Port Kaituma and surrounding communities. The wharf at Kumaka will be relocated in an effort to mitigate the heavy traffic caused by the market, and the Morawhanna stelling will be upgraded as it caters to persons and small cargo. The Ministry’s Transport and Harbours Department has contracted Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO) to rehabilitate the wharves in the region to the tune of some $700 million.